Public schools are ranked according to a ratio called the Challenge Index devised by Jay Mathews: the number of Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate tests taken by all students at a school in 2002 divided by the number of graduating seniors. Schools that chose more than half of their students by grades or test scores were not considered because the index is designed to identify schools that challenge average students and does not work well with schools that have few or no average students. The schools ranked below have the strongest AP or IB programs in the country. Each of them is in the top four percent of all American high schools measured this way. If you know of a public school that belongs on the list, with at least as many AP or IB tests as graduates in 2002, contact Jay Mathews at…
This ranking system means nothing as to the quality of a school. It’s merely a ratio between how many students took AP/IB tests to the number of students in the graduating class.
*Originally posted by Jnadke *
**This ranking system means nothing as to the quality of a school. It’s merely a ratio between how many students took AP/IB tests to the number of students in the graduating class.
**
I agree. How can you say someplace is the “Best High School in America” solely on the number of AP/IB tests that its students took? That’s only one single factor, and to give the #1 distinction based solely on that factor just doesn’t seem right.
And guess what, Rochester isn’t on the list either… we only had 400 AP tests taken this year.
Beachwood, Aurora, Solon, Shaker Heights, Pepper Pike, Chagrin Falls…All of the ranked Cleveland-area schools seem to be located in VERY affluent suburban locations.
So, ultimately, in order to be considered the “best”, it all boils down to who has the most $$$$???
It’s the American Way…
I’d truly love to see a list of the most successful high schools whose hallways weren’t paved with gold, whose teachers and administrators were at a significant disadvantage due to inadequate resources, and whose student population was filled with a higher percentage of troubled/misguided youth. Those schools who manage to do more with less - the ones who can turn not only the well-mannered but also the troubled, the poor, and the forgotten into college students - THOSE are the schools I’d consider the best in the nation, because they are inspiring students and creating futures for those who never believed they had any. Unfortunately, the educational handicap these schools are living with prevents them from saving as many as they’d like to. The next Dean Kamen could be working on his parents’ farm right now in rural Ohio, and we might never see that kid become a great contributor to society because his school is denied the same educational programs that wealthier schools have.
hmm…sometimes im grateful that Canada’s education system differs in ways from the American system. Your schools probably offer more opportunity and richer experiences, not in monetary terms i mean, but overall. And at other times, the AP/IB debates rage on, drawing attention to any disparity between rural and city schools. For now, Canada’s highest ranked schools are most likely private schools, much like the ones listed, but i am confident that public schools would rank quite high as well, including woburn. the only problem would be how to incoporate different streams (we have gifted, academic, applied) courses in our school into a ranking system.
This reminds me… anyone know of any schools in canada that offer AP classes? i hear unionville does, but that was from a friend so i cant be sure = )
*Originally posted by Jnadke *
**This ranking system means nothing as to the quality of a school. It’s merely a ratio between how many students took AP/IB tests to the number of students in the graduating class.
This belongs in Chit Chat. **
I agree… I attend a magnet school, Connecticut International Baccalaureate Academy of East Hartford High School, and this was its first year with a senior class. CIBA has 22 seniors, and as it stands now, we each took an average of 5 IB exams. All sophomores (26) take the AP Modern European History examination. That brings our average to (((22*5) + 26) / 22) or 6.181. That makes us the number two school in the country, and in our very first year as a four year school. What a laugh. That just proves this method, the challenge index, isn’t that great. We are a public school who chooses students based on a lottery. If they do this challenge index next year, CIBA will be the number one or two school in the country, as we are now an official four year high school
yeah this ranking isnt accurate, if you go by FCAT the florida standarized test, we should be #1 or #2 that comes out of our county, but we are unranked while many of the schools from our county are. Also our school has more silver knight (very prestigious and difficult scholarship contest in dade/broward counties) winners than any other schools after only having 2 graduating classes, and we still are unranked. But there really is no way to accurately rank a school seeing as how every school system and school is different the only way a ranking could be made is if all the schools took the same test and thier scores are how they are ranked. Our school many people do not take AP tests (we dont have IB) because the school has a large number of people in the arts magnet in our school, and they arent allowed to take AP classes or atleast are pressured into not taking the tests. Also the teachers from AP classes dont want some people taking the tests because they dont want thier rankings changed (our AP calc class last year of close to 70 peopl had 100% pass rate)
wow, i feel cool now. a bunch of the schools around us made the cut, but neither milford or lakeland made it. (milford and lakeland are the 2 schools that make up our team) does not making it mean that we seriously score that bad on tests??
Private schools are not listed and neither are public schools that have entrance exams. This means that a lot of FIRST schools will not show up on the list. The list is interesting but meaningless in my opinion.
